Category: Law

SCIENCE Government won’t dispute climate change, but will cast doubt on claimed harms Next week, barring a last-minute intervention by the Supreme Court, climate change will go to trial for just the second time in U.S. history. In a federal courtroom in Eugene, Oregon, 21 young people are scheduled to face off against the U.S. … More Youth climate trial showcases science

HIGH COUNTRY NEWS A genetically modified grass is loose in Oregon. It could have been much worse. In the failing light of an unusually warm January day, Jerry Erstrom and I race along a dirt track behind Rod Frahm’s white pickup. Here, near Ontario, Oregon, a stone’s throw from the Idaho border, Frahm grows onions, … More Little Weed, Big Problem

Voluntary greenhouse gas accounting has become common in the private sector, but is it helping? Ten years ago, as part of a sustainability initiative, Walmart decided to take a look at its greenhouse gas emissions. The retail giant not only tallied up the carbon footprint of its trucking fleet and supersize stores, it also set … More When companies track their climate emissions

Across the world, cities are taking the lead on climate change. Take Portland, Ore., for example, which recently passed two ambitious resolutions aimed at halting plans to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel hub. Read more in my story for Pacific Standard.

After more than two decades of international negotiations, the countries of the world have yet to agree on a serious plan to combat climate change. Fed up with the wait, some activists are taking a different approach: suing their governments for their inaction and the damage it will cause. Learn about a landmark case in … More Dutch citizens sue their government over climate

In 2012, seven Italian scientists and public officials were sentenced to six years in jail for failing to warn the city of L’Aquila about the possibility of a devastating earthquake, which arrived on April 6, 2009. But the L’Aquila Seven, as they’re known, appealed the decision in 2014 and were eventually acquitted. Read about the … More Italian seismologists acquitted in L’Aquila